Justin Tuck admitted he was "a little bit" surprised to see three of his long-time Giants teammates -- Ahmad Bradshaw, Michael Boley and Chris Canty -- be cut last week. But the veteran defensive end and defensive captain also trusts in the Giants front office, led by general manager Jerry Reese, that has put together two Super Bowl champion teams in the past six seasons.

"Those guys have done a great job over the years of building a team that can be successful, and I don’t see why we can't trust in the fact that they know what they're doing up there," Tuck said tonight at the annual Founders Dinner at Cipriani Wall Street. "Those decisions aren’t easy decisions. I'm sure Jerry and everyone up there had some tough times and some tough conversations about them, but they felt as though it needed to happen, and they went forward with it."

Tuck said it was his understanding that the decisions were financially driven, helping the Giants to clear nearly $14 million in salary-cap space. He hated to lose important contributors to their championship teams but also understands the business, adding, "hopefully, people have speculated, we might have a chance of getting some of them back later on." Tuck added that he has not been approached about his $4.5 million salary in the final year of his contract.

Asked "what's next?" for the Giants, Tuck said he doesn't have time to worry about that question. He just knows there are holes that need to be filled.

"Any time when a guy was hurt, or a guy is leaving, or gets cut or anything like that, it's always an opportunity for somebody else," Tuck said. "We've got guys on this team that need to step up and play better and do whatever role is needed from the coaching staff to have a successful football team. As OTAs come in, and training camp comes in, and the beginning of the season comes in, we’ll figure all that out."